Turkish Lunar Mission

The first Turkish Lunar Mission is the orbital-science and deep-space demonstration phase of Türkiye’s Lunar Research Programme. It is intended to establish lunar transfer, orbit acquisition, autonomous spacecraft operations and propulsion experience while studying the Moon and its environment. Four payloads address radiation, solar-wind interactions, the lunar water cycle and surface radiometric properties. TÜBİTAK UZAY’s September 2026 account targets launch in the first half of 2027, an approximately two-month lunar transfer and at least three months of nominal operations near 100 km altitude, potentially extending to eighteen months. The planned terminal operation is a controlled hard landing. Soft landing and rover investigations belong to the programme’s later phase.